Phinehas

About Phinehas

Phinehas was the son of Eleazar and the grandson of Aaron, the first high priest of Israel (Exo.6.25). He is most remembered for his zealous act of killing an Israelite man and a Midianite woman who were engaging in sexual immorality and idolatry, thus turning away God's wrath from the people (Num.25.7-11). As a result, God granted Phinehas and his descendants a covenant of perpetual priesthood (Num.25.12-13; Psalm Num.106.30-31).

Phinehas also played important roles in other events. He was sent along with other leaders to confront the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh regarding an altar they had built, which was seen as a potential act of rebellion against God (Jos.22.13-32). He served as a priest during the time of the judges and was consulted before the Israelites went to battle against the tribe of Benjamin (Jdg.20.28).

Phinehas was succeeded by his son Abishua in the line of high priests (1Ch.6.4-5, 50). He was remembered as a faithful priest who had charge of the gatekeepers in the tabernacle (1Ch.9.20) and was part of Ezra's lineage (Ezr.7.5; 8.2).

Description from STEPBible TIPNR (Tyndale House, Cambridge), CC BY 4.0, lightly reformatted. This is background reference material, not Scripture and not a FaithGraph editorial claim.